Chapter 6

The silence of the hotel room was deafening. Every tick of the clock, every distant car horn, amplified the hollow ache within me. My abdomen throbbed, a constant, physical reminder of the life I had lost, the child I would never hold. I curled into a ball on the plush bed, my body wracked with silent sobs. No one was here to hold me, to tell me it would be okay. No one was here to even acknowledge my grief.

Carlton. I remembered a time, years ago, when I' d sprained my ankle. He had carried me, fussed over me, his face etched with concern. "My poor Alexis," he' d murmured, gently smoothing my hair. Where was that man now? He was a phantom, an illusion I had foolishly believed in.

My phone buzzed. A text from my lawyer, a concerned friend. "Alexis, Carlton just hired the best divorce attorney in the city. And he's got Carmen's 'story' all prepped. They're going for blood."

I felt a cold dread settle in my stomach. She wouldn't stop. She wanted everything.

The next morning, as I left the hotel for a doctor's appointment, Carmen was waiting. She stood by a potted palm, looking casual, but her eyes glittered with malice. "So, the little princess is finally leaving her palace?" she sneered. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Carlton. And your house. Soon it'll be ours, just like our baby would have been." She patted her flat stomach, a triumphant smirk on her face. "He's already talking about divorcing you and marrying me. You're done, Alexis."

"You're pathetic, Carmen," I said, my voice flat. "And you wasted your time. I've already signed the divorce papers. You can have him. And everything else. I want nothing from either of you."

Her smirk vanished, replaced by a venomous scowl. "You think you can just walk away? You think you can leave me with nothing?" she hissed, her face contorted. "I'll make you pay, Alexis. I'll make you regret ever crossing me."

A chill snaked down my spine. Her threat, combined with my lawyer's warning, sent a shiver of unease through me. Something bad was coming. I knew it.

Later that afternoon, a text from an unknown number. It was Carlton. "Alexis, we need to talk. Meet me at the old coffee shop, by the park. Please."

A trap. I knew it. But a part of me, the foolish, hopeful part, still yearned for a genuine conversation, a moment of clarity. I decided to go. I wouldn't let her threats control me anymore.

As I walked through the park towards the coffee shop, a hand clamped over my mouth, another around my waist. The overwhelming scent of chloroform. Blackness.

I woke up to a throbbing headache, the smell of damp concrete and stale cigarettes filling my lungs. I was in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. My wrists and ankles were bound tightly. Dim light filtered through a grimy window high above. Across the room, tied to a rusty pipe, was Carmen. Her eyes, wide and terrified, met mine. She looked genuinely scared.

Then, the heavy metal door creaked open. Three burly men, their eyes predatory, leered at us. A camera on a tripod was pointed directly at Carmen. A setup. Of course.

But before they could move, the warehouse door burst open with a crash. Carlton stood there, his face a mask of fury. Carmen let out a desperate cry. "Carlton! Help me! They kidnapped me!"

Carlton rushed past me, pushing me roughly aside. My head slammed against the concrete floor. His eyes, when they met mine, were filled with a chilling hatred. He didn't even flinch. He just went straight to Carmen, untying her, pulling her into his arms, murmuring reassurances.

"Alexis! What have you done?!" he roared, his voice laced with venom.

Carmen buried her face in his chest, whimpering. "She... she kidnapped me, Carlton! She tried to hurt me! Those men..." She pointed at the three thugs, who now looked surprisingly calm, almost bored.

"No! I didn't kidnap anyone!" I cried, struggling against my restraints. "I was kidnapped too! Look! I'm tied up!"

Carlton ignored me. He slapped me across the face, a sharp, stinging blow that made my ears ring. "Don't lie, Alexis! I know what you're capable of now!" He pulled out his phone, his finger hovering over a play button. "I have proof. Listen to this."

A distorted voice, eerily similar to mine, filled the warehouse. "Yes, I want her punished. I want her to suffer. Tie her up, make her regret ever crossing me..." The words twisted, mangled, but the implication was clear. It was a fake. A doctored recording.

"It's fake, Carlton! It's not my voice!" I screamed, tears stinging my eyes. "Check for surveillance! There has to be cameras somewhere!"

He scoffed. "There are no cameras here, Alexis. And even if there were, they'd show you exactly what you deserve." He looked at the three men. "What did she say to you? Did she hire you?"

One of the men, a hulking figure with a cruel smile, stepped forward. "She paid us good money, boss. Said she wanted us to teach her a lesson. And her little sidekick too." He gestured to Carmen.

My world tilted. It was a meticulously planned frame-up. Carmen. She had orchestrated all of this. My eyes darted to her. She was watching me, a triumphant, malicious gleam in her eyes, barely concealed by her feigned distress.

"You witch!" I screamed, my voice raw with desperation. "You set this all up! I'm calling the police!"

Carmen clung to Carlton, her voice a desperate plea. "No, Carlton! Please! Don't call the police! My reputation! Your reputation!"

Carlton looked at me, then at Carmen, a cold, calculating look in his eyes. He slowly put his phone away. "She's right," he said, his voice a low growl. "We can't involve the police. Not with this mess." He turned to the men. "Deal with her. She needs to understand what it feels like." He gestured at me. "Make sure she gets the message. And make sure she learns her lesson."

My blood ran cold. He was leaving me. Abandoning me to these men. Again.

He picked Carmen up, a protective arm around her, and walked towards the door. "You think you can just manipulate everyone, Alexis? You think you can hurt good people and get away with it? Well, not anymore. You deserve this. Every bit of it."

My stomach lurched. The tumor throbbed. I watched him go, his silhouette framed in the doorway, Carmen whimpering in his arms. He didn't look back. He never did.

"No!" I screamed, my voice cracking, "Carlton! Please! Don't leave me!"

But the door slammed shut, plunging the warehouse into a terrifying darkness.